1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to apparatuses and systems for use in enclosure lighting. More particularly, the present invention relates to a battery powered apparatus and system for aftermarket and retro-fit use as enclosure lighting.
2. Description of the Related Art
The modern home, garage, and office environment has many enclosures in the form of cabinets, draws, toolboxes and furniture. The enclosures are often dark and poorly lighted. The location of the enclosure within the home, garage, or office determines the available ambient lighting conditions, and the available lighting is often inadequate to view the enclosure contents. To date there is little prior art designed to conveniently aid in lighting the contents of an existing cabinet, whether the limited visibility is due to poor room lighting, no lighting, or deep shelving units. Thus, there is a need for a lighting system to be easily added within a variety of enclosure types by an unskilled homeowner or office worker so that the contents are readily viewed and accessible when the cabinet is opened.
Prior art solutions to cabinet lighting are often built into the cabinet and require AC power and the associated requirement of a receptacle close to the enclosure. In every home or office, many enclosure exist which do not have built in lighting. Aftermarket lighting systems are often complex to install and still require an AC power source. The light intensity required to light a simple cabinet is low. The AC powered systems of the prior art are often overkill to the lighting requirements in a dark kitchen cabinet.
In adding an aftermarket light source to an existing cabinet or other enclosure, the homeowner or office worker is faced with installation. Many prior art lighting systems use a push button or toggle switch to enable the light when the cabinet door is opened. The switches are often fussy on mounting location and operating tolerances and their installation is often outside the skill level of the homeowner or office worker. In prior art systems designed for easy installation, the switch for sensing the door position is often integral with the housing containing the light source. This all-in-one design makes positioning the unit within the cabinet complicated, and the unit often interferes with the utility of the enclosure as a storage space. The all-in-one prior art designs require the light source be placed at a non-optimum location for lighting the enclosure interior, i.e. beside the enclosure door. Moreover, many cabinets have more than one door, and the prior art systems only illuminate the cabinet interior when the switched door is opened. The door designs of various enclosures offer an additional challenge to prior art switch installations. For example, modern cabinets use full overlay, partial overlay and recessed doors. The switch installation must be customized for each type of door and enclosure shape. The prior art switch installation often requires cutting, drilling, or other modifications of the enclosure structure and door.
Some prior art systems have used complex infa-red, or other wireless connection, with signals and circuitry to connect the door sensing switch to the light unit. These units are overly complex for the task at hand and their price point is often a deterrent to use in a simple cabinet with poor lighting.
According, it would be advantageous to provide a lighting system for installation in a variety of enclosure types which does not require AC power. The system should be affordable and allow retro-fit into existing cabinetry or other enclosures. The system installation should be readily within the skills of a homeowner or office worker. The system should allow the placement of the light source at the optimum location within the enclosure. The system should provide for simple installation of a switch to sense the opening and closing of the enclosure door, and activate the light when the door is open. Enclosures having multiple doors should be easily accommodated and the system should operate when any one of the doors is opened. It is thus to such an enclosure lighting system that the present invention is primarily directed.